I'm a nanny with my own baby - what should I charge?

[Vizella]

Hi all,

I am a single mother of a 1.5 year old DS whom I've committed to looking after until he's 3 - I believe in prioritising his needs above my career, etc etc. I live with my parents at the moment, that's how I can afford it.

However, I am eating into my savings and would like to make some income as an after-school nanny so that I don't deplete all of my savings. Otherwise, I might have to go back to work and I don't want to do that.

My question is, would parents be okay with me looking after their children while I bring my DS along - he is well-behaved and bright, not the type to run around tearing things down - and also, should I charge slightly less or the same hourly rate?

So, in London, nannies charge about £15 net per hour, should I charge £10-12 per hour?

Thanks for your advice (and sorry if any of this offends some of you - no idea how lol, but you never know).

OP , I agree with you but you will get a lot of hate for saying this on here. I did when I mentioned it on another thread.

@Shan5474 https://criticalscience.medium.com/on-the-science-of-daycare-4d1ab4c2efb4

this article is a good summary of this theory

A couple of very small studies have indicated some correlation between non-parental caregiving and ADHD, depression and anxiety. (It’s worth noting for balance that other very small studies have found no correlation.) However, parental history of ADHD, depression and anxiety remains uniquely and overwhelmingly predictive of early-onset and persistent risk in children for all three conditions - so it’s entirely likely that it’s an example where correlation does not equal causation, but because depressed and anxious parents or those who struggle with executive function and moderating their behaviour as parents are more likely to make use of childcare to help them get by than happy neurotypical parents are.

Around here nannie are paid 16-18 and even 20p/h. It would be extremely unusual as well for you not to cook the food for the kids. When do you expect working parents to do that? That would be part of the job. Also running the kids to various activities, helping with homework, ensuring they have a bath, pack bags and sort uniforms. Definitely not doable with an 18mo in tow. I know it would be a firm NO around here as people want a proper nanny and I think you are looking for a babysitter role.
Also you must be joking that a 1.5yo is not that much work. I have an almost 2yo and I can't imagine doing an actual job alongside caring for her, so there is no way that you would give the kids full attention.
What if your kid is ill? What happens then?

The norm is to charge less per hour. Also you would be expected to prioritise the nanny child within reason. So do think carefully. There are people who will hire you but fewer and it’s not always easy. So plan carefully. What will happen if your child is sick? What will happen if they hurt themselves whilst you have charge of your nanny child? Discuss and plan for each eventuality with your nanny family ahead of time to avoid issues.

Hi, I can’t tell you what to charge but just want to encourage you. I employed a nanny whose son was 18 months old at the time when I went back to work when my daughter was 4 months old. She lived with her parents at the time and came to our house with her son each day. She came in the middle of the night when I went into labour with my 2nd daughter to look after my 1st, leaving her son at home with her parents. She worked for us for 15 years. My daughters babysat for her twins, born when she had been with us 10 years. We’re still in touch and she and her family recently attended my first daughter’s wedding. She was great and her son became like a cousin to my kids.
We paid her a set amount each week regardless of hours as I felt it was important she had a reliable income.
good luck!

People hire nannies for the personal attention. Yours will be taken up by your dc. I personally wouldn’t hire you

Yes but most experienced nannies wouldn't work through Koru kids because the pay is very low

We had 2 nannies who brought their own child to work one older one younger . We paid 1/3 less than standard. The nanny with older child prioritised her child ie my baby/ toddler went along to school assemblies etc my child was the passenger in older child’s life as a younger sibling would be.
Second time round our brilliant nanny came back from Mat leave with 6 month old baby but by the time they were a toddler it was difficult to balance the needs of her toddler with naps baby groups etc with the needs of my older children and school runs / homework etc.

There is no way I would pay full price as an employer. While my school age child watched TV after school a nanny would normally cook/ tidy but she needed to give attention to younger child / feed them at mealtimes etc .

Having said this , we were prepared to give it a go to keep great Nannies as part of our family set up and save some money. Still in touch with both. Need to be realistic that it might not work for either party.

I mean was it your parents idea to move in and devote yourself to parenthood under thier roof?

Also do they want another kid in thier house?

From the book Being There by Erica Komisar

she’s done a lot of interviews on that topic too, here’s one of them

I think people are being overly negative.

Certainly where I am reliable after school nannies are few and far between. I would have loved someone like you a few years ago.

But (apologies if you have already answered this, I haven’t read the whole thread), what would your toddler be doing when you were looking after your charges? How is homework help compatible with entertaining a toddler?

Having said that, it is only a couple of hours and the care wouldn’t have to be perfect.

Here (SW London) I would pitch yourself between £12 and £15 per hour. Agencies would charge around £20 for a nanny without children. But you would probably have to take what work you could get. You would be very lucky to get a solid 5 days per week every week.

I'm not offended. I don't even have kids. Do have my own home though. And it's not absurd to point out that the OP is wanting to work as a nanny while negatively viewing anyone who uses a nanny - not a good start for any working relationship.

Why not just train to be a child minder where this is very acceptable.

This can work very well. My son’s first nanny has just returned to us and brings her toddler three afternoons a week. Our previous nanny was with is just over three years and has now made her sideline business into a full-time job. We got lucky that my son’s first nanny was looking for part-time work.

i also know of a nanny who has been with the same family for over 10 years, during which time she’s had three kids of her own and agreed that she’d bring them to her employer’s house. It’s not for everyone but it can work well.

She doesn't need to train to be a childminder, if she's a trained nanny. But she would have to jump through OFSTED hips etc.

And quite a few of us have said that we've employed nannies in OP's position. I got all the convenience of a nanny at around childminder rates (I can't remember exactly how much as it was a long time ago, but I certainly didn't need to pay (not did she want) nanny rates. It was a win/win for us both.

Hi @Vizella , when I was looking for a nanny for my 1 year old there was a lady who offered slightly cheaper rate as, similar to your situation, she would bring her 6 month old with her. I didn't go for her as I thought 2 toddlers would be too much for her and my child might get neglected. Since you are planning to care for school aged kids it might be ok. But I do want you to consider this thing as other posters have mentioned, how would you deal with situations when maybe your child wants your attention but the other kids need something or you need to cook for them etc. You won't expect them to help out in looking after your kid right.. I hope you find some workaround for this. All the best.

I think those that wouldn't be happy with this kind of setup are underestimating how happy many others would be with this type of setup.
My DC has a nanny that has two children slightly older than my DC, and it works beautifully. If the nannie's children are in nursery/with family/in school, she's with my DC 1:1, but often mine ends up sloting in with hers. I trust her completely and think that being around other children in a home environment is good for my DC (who has no siblings/cousins, and I have no local friends with children).
The fact that I'm happy for my DC to be with hers whenever necessary or it works out that way, means she is far more flexible which helps massively as I'm a single parent without any support and disabled to boot.
If I were ever to have a second DC somehow, I would actively look for this type of setup- the tradeoff of the 1:1 care being that either the nanny would be more affordable, or more flexible, or both. It'd only work if, like this one, I was 100% comfortable and trusting of the nanny. We started out 1:1 and once I realised she was more than capable of handling 3 children on her own, shifted to doing more and more with them all together instead of just 1:1 care.

Well you have insulted me and probably every other parent who uses childcare other than family.
My child was born with autism but I suspect you think it's because I put him in a nursery so I could actually afford a roof over his head and food. Unfortunately I didn't have the option of just moving in with my parents.

It is objectively better for a child to be raised by a parent as opposed to childcare. It isn't an attack on your parenting if someone chooses to take this into account when deciding on when/how/if they work while they have small children. It's also better for children to be raised in a two-parent household with their biological parents, saying this isn't an attack on OP.

My DC has a nanny that has two children slightly older than my DC, and it works beautifully

Keyword being older.

You're never going to be able to give your clients children your full attention with a toddler, and the awkwardness of being in another persons house - that sounds like utter chaos, unless the child is especially angelic.

Parents who use childcare still raise their children.

and this is exactly why I wouldn't use a Nanny like OP. Her judgement was pretty clear from the start.

- the tradeoff of the 1:1 care being that either the nanny would be more affordable, or more flexible, or both.

But the thing is that in this case, the OP isn't proposing to be especially flexible, she wants to finish at 5:30/6. And because she only wants to take one child, it's not especially affordable either. Nannies are really more cost effective when you have 2+ children

If she was in a rural area, she might still have a market but in London where schools do tend to have wraparound, I can't see what she is offering being attractive

I'm a working mum and wasn't offended by ops post. I took a year off as I wanted to prioritize my baby being cared for by me - that was my choice and I financially sacrificed a lot for it, but that doesn't mean I judge parents who need or choose to go back much earlier, they might be thinking why doesn't she work harder and send her kid to private school or get him a better sized home etc